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For $1.7M, you could be the next owner of the Volunteer Park Cafe (and live upstairs at 17th and Galer)

Will you be the next cafe owner at 17th and Galer? (Image: NWMLS)

It probably really is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” The 1904-built, two-story market and apartment these days known as the Volunteer Park Cafe is for sale. And, yes, the popular neighborhood cafe in the middle of some of Seattle’s most expensive residential real estate is part of the $1.7 million package.

“It’s a very, very unique deal. It’s so unique for the owner of the business to own the building as well in a location like this,” co-broker and Seattle commercial real estate expert Laura Miller tells CHS.

“The neighborhood should be really happy about the opportunity. It’s a great building,” Dustin Van Wyck, the other broker working on nailing down a deal for the property said.

“We’d love nothing more than to pass the torch along.”

The brokers say the cafe will remain open in the meantime — likely right up until a new owner takes over, they hope.

“Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a landmark business in the heart of Capitol Hill, with an historic restaurant storefront on the main level and a 3br/2ba apartment above,” the real estate pitch reads. “The Volunteer Park Grocery/Cafe building has been a beloved community gathering spot for over 100 years, and this is a chance to purchase it as the ultimate live/work business proposition. Rustic charm, years of embedded history and a loft-like living retreat make this a creative dream come true.”

Not mentioned, is how the delicate nature of its presence at 17th and Galer brought some rough times for the Volunteer Park Cafe. It debuted this month 13 years ago as a collaboration between Ericka Burke and baker extraordinaire Heather Earnhardt. Before VPC, the building housed the infamously odd Cafe Europa and old timers still refer to it as Groucho’s for the old market that served the Hill in its Leave it to Beaver days.

Volunteer Park Cafe’s success and lines out the door seemed like a surprise for many neighbors. After three years of growing the business, Burke and Earnhardt found themselves facing neighborhood backlash after a neighbor’s complaint stymied their plans for a backyard patio expansion and, for a time, put the entire cafe’s existence in jeopardy over permitting problems. There were, indeed, community meetings held to discuss the cafe’s presence. It was — surprisingly — a big deal.

Burke also ran into problems in Pike/Pine in 2009 when her partnership with Linda Derschang in starting Oddfellows did not work out.

Volunteer Park Cafe, meanwhile, became a solid center for her. By 2013, the paperwork was straightened out, Earnhardt left to open the Wandering Goose, and Burke bought the old house for $680,000 from its longtime owner. Old timers, you’ll appreciate this — the company Burke used to purchase the building was called Groucho, LLC.

With creating a larger business around Volunteer Park Cafe not in the cards, Burke continued her string of ambitious new openings including the centerpiece restaurant in developer Liz Dunn’s Chophouse Row project. But Burke’s Chop Shop lasted less than a year on 11th Ave. Burke also opened a new cafe and market in the Portage Bay neighborhood in 2015. But by early 2016, a hand-written sign went up and the Canal Market was abruptly closed.

We have not heard from cafe and property owner Burke about the listing but Miller said the decision isn’t about a reemergence of some of the past issues with the cafe’s place in the middle of a single-family style home dominated neighborhood.

“Her decision to sell has nothing to do with the neighborhood,” Miller said. “She’s in good graces.”

Any prospective new owner considering the $1.7 million asking price should know it’s a package deal. The 117-year-old market turned cafe has a full-floor, three-bedroom, two-bath apartment upstairs. Downstairs, the cozy cafe and restaurant does a steady business with fresh baked house favorites and seasonal specials inspired by herbs and produce from the backyard garden.

It is also a tenuous existence. Any teardown, Miller said, would likely be the end of the property’s grandfathered commercial use.

 

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22 Comments
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Local
Local
4 years ago

Or could it be the Macarena opened up by st joes is taking a lot of the business and is a lot nicer and cleaner space ?

RWK
RWK
4 years ago
Reply to  Local

You mean “Macrina.”

JR
JR
4 years ago
Reply to  RWK

Probably, it’s cleaner and the food is a bit more up to date.

GregoryH
GregoryH
4 years ago

Surprising that the listing doesn’t include any financials about the business. Nothing about whether the building currently generates rent, nothing about the business’s revenues or expenses…

Local
Local
4 years ago
Reply to  GregoryH

It probably made sense at $680k when it was last purchased, but who has $1.7m and wants to run a cafe and live upstairs ? I believe Macarena was only paying $3-4K for its space.

S
S
4 years ago
Reply to  Local

Macarena: spanish dance song.
Macrina: Seattle bakery.

Just saying.

Justin Foster
Justin Foster
4 years ago
Reply to  Local

Heeeeeeeey Macarena!

Bring back Groucho’s! A little corner store would be great…

JF
JF
4 years ago
Reply to  Local

also there’s NO way Macrina is only $3-4K for that space…

Local
Local
4 years ago
Reply to  GregoryH

I was close – rent was $5k under Tully’s..

Dave0
Dave0
4 years ago

PSA: for anyone agonizing the potential loss of this neighborhood gem… Note that this use is currently illegal under current zoning because it’s in a single-family zone. If you’d like to see more neighborhood cafes like this one, show up to local political meetings advocating for loosening these strict single-family zoning regulations.

happy customer
happy customer
4 years ago
Reply to  Dave0

yes! Put one next to my house, thank you!

nettles
nettles
4 years ago
Reply to  Dave0

yes exactly!!!

David
David
4 years ago

Crap. My partner and I actually want this exact setup for our business. We don’t have that much laying around, however…

X
X
4 years ago

Buyer beware! If VPC and Ericka Burke are included with the purchase, RUN!

Chop Shop ran rampant with drugs, theft and chaos. She’s a hot mess.

Moving On
Moving On
4 years ago

So Ericka Burke got a sweetheart deal from the former owners on a great spot, and she now wants to cash in for an extra mill? Gross.

I hope this works out beautifully for whoever comes next.

heather
heather
4 years ago
Reply to  Moving On

She bought it with her partner 17 years ago in 2003. Then she bought her partner out in 2013 for $680,000. The article doesn’t say how much they “each” paid for it in 2003. Just saying.

sara
sara
4 years ago

Also get ready by to be constantly sued by the north Capitol hill NIMBYS.

JR
JR
4 years ago

I’d like to see healthier options on the menu, it’s just notch up from bar food right now.

Matt
Matt
4 years ago

So boxy and out of scale, I hope they demolish it and build a nice family home where people can park their cars in the front. Even better, make it a golf course.

/s

peter1589
peter1589
4 years ago

The seller should at the very least be able to justify her price by business revenue and expense figures. Otherwise, what does she hope for?

Marilynn Westerman
Marilynn Westerman
4 years ago

Such nasty comments…..I find her restaurant to be cozy and charming and the food delicious……..what a neighborhood gem….wish i had it in mine……1.7 million in this market is not bad I would have thought it would be more. Amazing how unkind and uncivil we have become as a culture.